Luck Peters Out For Peter , Is Arrested

Luck Peters Out For Peter , Is Arrested

FPJ BureauUpdated: Friday, May 31, 2019, 08:46 PM IST
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Makes him fourth accused in the Sheena Bora murder case; role in murder conspiracy and destruction of evidence under scanner .

Mumbai : In a dramatic development, media tycoon Peter Mukerjea was arrested on Thursday in the case related to the murder of Sheena Bora, the daughter of his wife Indrani Mukerjea from her first husband. This makes him the fourth prime accused in the case which the central agency is probing since mid-September. He was picked up from his Worli residence within hours of the CBI filing a charge-sheet in the case. It is understood that Mukerjea gave contradictory statements to the CBI, which had brought his role in the murder conspiracy under the scanner. His arrest will facilitate custodial interrogation by the agency, which will, in turn, help the investigators determine whether he had a hand in the destruction of evidence. He is also likely to be accused of ‘‘shielding the accused.’’

The sudden arrest has come as an embarrassment for the Mumbai police which had questioned him repeatedly but stopped short of arresting him. Peter, a former CEO of Star Group, had claimed in the early days of the investigation into the case that he was not aware that Sheena was Indrani’s daughter. In fact, he asserted in numerous television interviews that he had been told by Indrani that Sheena was her sister. Sheena was also engaged to Rahul Mukerjea, Peter Mukerjea’s son from an earlier marriage — a relationship that Indrani disapproved of strongly. It has been alleged that Sheena was a ‘benami’ custodian of a part of Peter’s wealth and the media tycoon had played a key role in obliterating the financial trail that could have linked him to the murder. With Peter’s arrest the financial angle to the murder has resurfaced and the mystery of the motive for the murder has been partially solved. In 2007, the Mukerjeas had co-founded the broadcasting group INX media, which they exited in 2009 amid talk of embezzlement and proxy firms.

The FPJ is also given to understand that Peter’s wife Indrani had made certain disclosures which brought focus on the media tycoon and his role in the web of conspiracy. Her interrogation had also helped nail some of the lies of Peter Mukerjea. Sheena Bora, 24, was allegedly strangled inside a car in April 2012. Her remains were found in August this year, in the forest in Raigad, around 80 km from Mumbai. Days later, Indrani was arrested. She is accused of keeping Bora’s body overnight at the home she shares with Mukerjea, before driving it to Raigad the next morning where it was set on fire. She allegedly told friends and family for three years that her daughter had left for the US. Incidentally, Peter was in London at the time of the murder. However, the CBI are examining whether the London visit was intended to give the media tycoon an alibi and was part of a well-crafted charade. He is likely to be produced in the court on Friday, where the CBI will tell the magistrate why they need Peter’s custody for interrogation.

The CBI on Thursday also filed in the court a charge-sheet accusing Indrani, her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna and her erstwhile driver Shyamvar Rai of murdering Sheena Bora. The charge sheet, running into 1,000 pages, includes around 200 documents and statements of around 150 witnesses. The trio is currently in judicial custody which is due to expire on Friday. Hours after the chargesheet was filed, Peter was picked up and taken to the CBI office in south Mumbai where he was quizzed all evening by a dozen investigators. Later at night a medical team examined the business tycoon. The case had generated much political heat with the opposition attacking the BJP-led Government in the state for the abrupt transfer of Rakesh Maria in September in the midst of the probe. It was alleged that the police was going slow on Peter’s interrogation at the behest of a senior police functionary. The case was transferred to the CBI on September 19 after allegations that the new police chief, Ahmed Javed, was “close to” Peter Mukerjea. Peter’s lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani said he was surprised at the decision of the CBI to place him under arrest. “I will be extremely shocked if the news about his arrest is true,” he said.

Ex-driver helped nail Peter’s lies,

 Mumbai : More than wife Indrani’s revelations, it was the erstwhile driver Shyamvar Rai who helped nail media tycoon Peter Mukerjea’s lies, leading to his arrest. It is understood that the driver revealed to the investigators that Peter was aware that Sheena was dead even as his wife was keeping up pretenses that her daughter was in the US. According to media sources, the driver had hinted at Peter’s complicity in the murder conspiracy during interrogation at Khar police station but had clammed up when the Mumbai police refused to pursue that line of inquiry. The driver’s revelations are likely to be examined afresh against the backdrop of allegations of Peter’s ‘close proximity’ to certain police officials and the ‘inconsistencies’ in his statements given to the CBI investigators. Rai, one of the prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, has already recorded his statement in-camera before a magistrate. This statement, unlike a statement before the police, will be admissible in the trial. It will be sent to the trial judge who will unseal it and give copies to the lawyers. Rai had written to the magistrate’s court and claimed that he wanted to reveal the truth about the case.

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